Rule of three easy to forget

October 6, 2009

By Kevin Wilson: FNM columnist

I’ve got two things on my mind, and each one weakens if I spread it out to 500 words. So here’s a 1-2 punch of sports and dating … or maybe “dating.”

• So in 2007, Mitt Romney was one of 30 candidates, give or take 20, for the Republican nomination for president. Romney said he would certainly lobby for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. Nobody seemed to have a problem with that.

Then, in 2008, President George W. Bush went to Chicago and said the city was deserving of International Olympic Committee consideration. Nobody seemed to have a problem with that.

In 2009, President Barack Obama makes a pitch for the Olympics, continuing groundwork Bush and Romney laid down.

And those who supported Romney and Bush cheered when Chicago came up short. That’s not a colorful exaggeration. Glenn Beck said to “savor this moment,” RedState.com said, “Hahahahaha” and the staff at Weekly Standard literally applauded.

I think Rio’s win had little to do with Obama, and more to do with factors beyond his, Bush’s or Romney’s control. And I think Obama critics would have complained had he not campaigned for the 2016 Games.

But Democrats aren’t off clean. The same Democrats who bristled when told disagreements with the Bush administration made them anti-America now happily throw those words back at the NOlympics, NObama crowd.

I’m just glad there isn’t an Olympic competition for political posturing. We’d sweep the field.

• Over the weekend, I decided I needed to catch up with a friend. When I got down to the house where she was hanging out with friends, it was clear I would not be able to monopolize her time. That means time to mingle.

I meet interesting characters at house parties. There’s the guy who tells you, “I’m amazing at beer pong.” (That means, “I’m not good at a lot of things.”) There are the two guys hanging together with hilarious stories, and — though they look nothing alike — must spend the evening telling people they aren’t related. And there’s the girl who’d be a perfect mannequin at Hot Topic.

I like all of those, but it’s the cute minglers who make me forget the rule of three.

I mentioned the movie “Gone Baby Gone” to a girl in a conversation. Enter her attractive friend, who previously told me I smelled really good. She talks about “Gone Baby Gone” author Dennis Lehane, and suddenly the other girl is out of the picture.

The conversation went into what books we were each working on. We talked about what we did, and I mentioned that I photograph on occasion. That covered a few minutes too.

So we’ve covered movies, we’ve covered books and we’ve taken care of photography. I’m thinking I’d love to see this girl, perhaps at a place that served steak and didn’t have a table for beer pong.

And then she transitions poorly, “Well, my boyfriend and I …” Yep, the Rule of Three. A person away from their significant other must bring them up after discovering three things in common with a new person. Two things, they’re being standoffish. Four things, they’re a temptress.

I mockingly walked away, but then came back. She laughed and said, “Come on. My boyfriend isn’t even here.” The conversation went on a little bit longer, and my lone victory was that infidelity would not become the fourth thing we had in common.